Kenya's governor, Johnson Sakaja, is being criticized for how his government handled the country's flooding caused by the recent heavy rains.
On Thursday, Senator Tabitha Mutinda, who was nominated, accused Governor Sakaja of being incompetent in managing the crisis that has resulted in more than fifteen deaths in the capital.
The Senate Committee on Finance and Budget vice-chairperson, Mutinda, stated that Nairobi has not organized itself and has yet received funds from the National Treasury for the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action program (FLLOCA).
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"As the finance committee, we have appropriated it but apparently, that money has never left the National Treasury and the problem is they have not met the basic conditions like signing an agreement that stipulates the need for a CEC in charge of climate or the environment or opening a special account for this fund," the nominated senator told Citizen TV's Daybreak program.
"Other counties have received these funds but Nairobi has not because someone somewhere is sitting on their job."
Asked whether the person was Governor Sakaja, Mutinda said, "Of course, it is the executive."
According to Senator Mutinda, despite the Nairobi County Assembly passing a Ksh. 200 million emergency fund for the 2023–2024 fiscal year, the funds have not been used effectively to lessen or prevent flooding in the city.
"The main problem we have is planning. We do not see the emergency funds being used correctly to mitigate floods," she said.
She mentioned that the county had hired individuals to clear road drainage systems and sewers before the rains, but they had left trash all over the roads.
"That waste kept coming back and clogging the drainage systems when the rains came," Mutinda claimed.
She also criticized Nairobi County for appointing unfit individuals to head divisions.
"In Nairobi, we have people in the disaster department whose qualifications do not match their job responsibilities," she said.
"If we do not put the right personnel and keep giving political rewardees these posts, where do we live? It is appropriate to have people with the right expertise?"
At least 16 people have died as a result of the flooding in Nairobi, according to Governor Sakaja, who also reported that 60,000 people were affected. The county government, he told The Star newspaper, was "on top of it."
Over 179 people have died as a result of the floods nationwide, according to official statistics that Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura released on Wednesday night.
195,011 people have been displaced thus far, and 90 individuals are still unaccounted for.
